Filipino Innovator Kyxz Mendiola's Koncepto Millenya, A One-Seater Flying Car

In our generation today, flying cars are slowly becoming a reality.

According to Wiki, a flying car or roadable aircraft is a type of vehicle which can function both as a personal car or automobile and as an aircraft. As used here, this includes vehicles which drive as motorcycles when on the road. The term "flying car" is also sometimes used to include hovercars.

Many prototypes have been built since the early 20th century, using a variety of flight technologies. Most have been designed to take off and land conventionally using a runway, although VTOL projects are increasing. None has yet been built in more than a handful of numbers.

Their appearance is often predicted by futurologists, and many concept designs have been promoted. But their failure to become a practical reality has led to the catchphrase "Where's my flying car?” as a paradigm for the failure of predicted technologies to appear.

Flying cars are also a popular theme in fantasy and science fiction stories, now, it’s no more science fiction.

Many are joining around the world for the race to successfully man a flying car.

Just recently, October of 2022, a Filipino innovator named Kyxz Mendiola successfully created a one-seater flying car. He named it the Koncepto Millenya. It can stay in the air for 15 minutes with a maximum speed of 60 kilometers per hour.

The Koncepto Milenya, or simply Milenya, is a concept for a vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) ultralight aircraft developed by Kyxz Mendiola. Often referred to as a "flying car" the aircraft was developed by its inventor as a means to cope with heavy road traffic in Manila.

Kyxz Mendiola began developing Millenya in the early 2010s, using his own money to fund his project in its early years of development. Friends and relatives later helped him in his project. Millions of pesos and at least six years has been spent for the development of the aircraft.

Mendiola has named "disappointment, mocking and discouraging words" as a hindrance to the development of the Millenya. He intends the vehicle to be similar to a sports car; a "flying Lamborghini". Trial and error method is used with Mendiola experimenting with different parts. In at least one test, his vehicle caught fire. In September 2018, the aircraft had its first public maiden flight in Batangas. After a video featuring the aircraft went viral in social media, Australian firm Star8 has expressed interest in partnering with Mendiola to develop Milenya for mass production.

Kyxz said he started getting into this craft when he shifted to filming from dancing. Since there were no drones that could carry big cameras, he thought of making his own that he can also ride.

"Ready na tayo i-produce 'to. Kailangan na lang natin mahanap 'yung mga tamang partners kasi it's limitless eh. Besides sa flying cars, nagde-develop din ako ngayon ng electric motorcycle," he said.

"Because it's electric, [instead] na P400 a day sa gas, it's only P50 and pwede na gamitin pang everyday. Makakabawas din sa pollution," he added.

"We're ready to produce this. We just need to find the right partners because it's limitless. Besides flying cars, I am also currently developing an electric motorcycle."

You can connect with Kyxz Mendiola and monitor his progress and achievements through his FB acccount.

There it is, a Filipino pride indeed. In a not so distant future, we will be seeing these flying cars roaming our skies.

Cheerio!